Austria wants to set up a register of radical magnets

The bloody Islamist attack that took place in Vienna on the night of 2 November last year put the Austrian government on alert. The government has already begun to carry out a search of imams who preach in mosques in its territory.

The aim is to detect pockets of radicalisation that can be deactivated before an attack such as the one mentioned takes place, which killed five people, including the terrorist who was shot by the police, and injured over 20. 

"The November attack has affected us deeply. There are still candles at the place of the crimes next to the synagogue in Vienna. And the conclusion is clear: we are crying, but we will also take up an active fight against those who threaten our free life," said European Affairs Minister Kariline Edstadler.

Austria has also asked the other countries of the European Union to carry out similar searches and to set up a database in Brussels to serve as a tool in the fight against terrorism and anti-Semitism. If this is not done, the initiative of Sebastian Kurz's government could prove ineffective as imams travel from time to time to other mosques or Austrian Muslim associations, places where they could make contact with radicals and subsequently maintain contact via the internet.

"Firstly, it is important for Europe to further improve cooperation and data exchange between Member States' judicial and security authorities. We made this demand together with France and it was also well received at the EU summit in December," Edstadler explained. "In the fight against political Islam, I am in favour of creating a directory of European imams based on the Austrian example. Most imams travel through many EU countries, so the security authorities must know who is preaching what in which mosque. Austria is a pioneer in banning the funding of mosques and Muslim associations from abroad, something which is also very popular in Denmark, for example. It would also be important that funds from the new EU budget are so strictly controlled in the future that they do not go to organisations and associations representing Islamist and anti-Semitic positions.

In Austria, attacks on the Jewish community have doubled since 2014. In some cases, such as the one in August last year in the city of Graz, the police pointed out "Islamist motives". The accused, a Syrian citizen, carried out several attacks against the local Jewish community, including its president. He was also accused of attacking a Catholic church and an LGBT centre. 

To prevent this, Minister Edstadler has campaigned for an "Austrian-Jewish cultural heritage law" to secure the communities financially and improve their protection. "This culture is the basis of the rule of law in an open and free society," she said. In 2019 and in Vienna alone, 550 attacks were recorded.

In the Central European country, measures have been taken previously to combat radical Islamism. In 2018, the government ordered the closure of seven mosques accused of spreading extremist ideas and considered the deportation of 60 imams identified with these ideas.

A law passed in 2015 banned foreign funding of Muslim preachers and places of worship to limit foreign influence on the Austrian Islamic community. The law passed by conservatives and social democrats also provided for German to be the only language allowed in preaching, as well as for the training of imams to take place in Austria.

Similar legislation was proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron following the assassination of Professor Samuel Paty on 16 October after he showed Muhammad cartoons in class in order to give a lesson on freedom of expression to his students.

The law that is beginning to be debated in Parliament this month seeks to put an end to what Macron called "Islamist separatism", which, as the president pointed out, jeopardises the country's republican values. The new legislation will protect public employees from pressure from Islamists and ensure that secularism is respected. As in Austria, the French government intends to train "republican imams" who will receive their religious education in France and will be in agreement with the values of the Republic.